Court
documents say the attacks were spurred by personal, religious disputes
between Mullet’s community and members of other Amish communities.

In
an interview with the Associated Press before the verdict, one of
Mullet’s sons, Edward Mast, 19, said the group should not be charged
with a hate crime.

"The beard, what it stands for me, what I know
about it, once you're married, you just grow a beard. That's just the
way the Amish is," Mast said. “They got their beard back again, so
what's the big deal about it?"

However, court documents also
allege that Mullet was physically abusive to male members of his
community and participated in sexual “counseling” with married women.

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Samuel Mullet in his police photo (WKBN/U.S. Attorneys Office, Northern District of Ohio)